Indefinable
by BeyondSanity12
Summary: Within a computer, an entire world awaits. A world full of sentient albeit man-made people. Bella gets the opportunity to go in and explore it. What no one was expecting was for her to fall in love with one of the citizens. She loves this thinking, feeling man with a ferocity beyond anything she has ever felt before. And he loves her back with a love just as real as hers.


**Chapter 1**

I present myself at my father's office just as he said, with no bags whatsoever. I come as if I were stopping by to chat with my dad, not as if I were about to take a summer vacation away from reality, in jeans and a t-shirt. The building is, of course, sensory overload. Normal brick structure on the outside, techno-sci-fi mother ship on the inside. But I'm used to it.

"Do you remember everything from orientation, Bells?" Charlie asks worriedly.

"Yes, Dad," I assure him, "And the dictionary-ish study guide you gave me last fall."

"Are you sure you want to do this, kid? I mean, it's not too late to back out," he tells me.

"Yes, I'm sure. You've got me all excited. I mean, how many college freshmen do you know that have the chance to do something this cool?"

"Significantly fewer than the number that would kill for it. Humus is pretty cool," he chuckles, shaking his head, "But you could always wait until next summer. This is kind of a new thing for us, transporting actual people into the thick of it."

It's my turn to shake my head. Charlie definitely knows by now that once I make up my mind about something there's no going back. "You really shouldn't worry so much. I don't think you've been able to supervise me as closely as you will soon since I learned to walk."

"And I'll be there in a flash of code if you step a toe out of line," he laughs, "We're even slowing down the time acceleration rate to about real time. What feels like a day in there should be about a day out here. Though that's subject to change, considering—"

"Considering the factor of unforeseen events occurring within Humus which may result in the need for alterations to the rate of acceleration, yes I know," I finish with a proud smile. I'm not the type of person to skim a few pages and jump headfirst into a volcano; I do my homework.

"Good girl," Charlie praises me, "Do you have any last minute questions before we send you into Entry Prep?"

"Just one," I say. Charlie looks at me expectantly, a wealth of information gleaming in his eyes patiently awaiting an excuse to get out. "Does my Avatar have two left feet too?"

Then my father laughs heartily, wrapping an arm around my shoulder in a rare expression of emotion. "I have faith in you, Bells. I just hope you enjoy our old hunk of code."

"Send me in," I agree, "I'm ready."

That's how I found myself strapped to more wires than I'd bargained for and covered in a mysterious, electrical mesh material.

"Stick out your tongue," Dr. Gwenn instructs me curtly.

I gape at her, ignoring the uncomfortable tugging sensation that causes in my other facial muscles. "My tongue?"

"Yes, dear, do you want to be able to taste in Humus?"

I sigh resignedly and felt extremely childish sticking out my tongue.

"Aren't you glad you had all of those scans done last so we don't have to stick these in your small intestine?"

I shudder at the thought, and she reprimands me for my unnecessary movement. "This is mostly just a precaution, you know. Making sure you don't freak out the Sims and start glitching. I've never seen it happen before, but I think they'd get freaked out if your face started melting off," she explains humorously.

I restrict the urge to nod, knowing it would only irritate Dr. Gwenn further.

"You'll feel just like an actual person," she goes on, wrapping the mesh carefully around my mouth, "You'll taste the food. You'll be able to feel a handshake should one be offered. Of course, should one of the Sims decide to shoot you, you'd feel that too. And we'd probably zap you back with our ambulance-in-a-box on hand."

I contemplate the ramifications of that. I knew of course that injuries sustained in Humus would be real. It was the idea of getting shot that shook me.

"Don't ask me how it works if you know what's good for you, though," she continues, "Not unless you have a few hours and a mammoth scientific dictionary." She works in silence for a minute or so, typing something at lightning speed on her computer. "Not to say that we couldn't still fetch you if you died. There was plenty of debate over what should be done when Sims die, and it was eventually decided on that we give them their own equivalent of Heaven. So you'd just kind of wait for us to come fetch you, but it takes us longer to get into the Bin than Humus itself."

I snicker softly at the idea. There was a reason I was a literature major.

"That should do it," she announces after a few more minutes of torture. "Just as the millionth recap for you, you will arrive immediately in the apartment that will be yours. Charlie went in personally last week to set up your very own new life. Kind of a mundane process creating paperwork for you out of code for you out here, but he did it all himself. Didn't trust anyone else to do it right. Then he went in and got an apartment all ready. You've got a small fortune waiting for you too, courtesy of the keyboard. Not that it's any problem for him, practically a wave of the hand considering some of the things he's done. He's kind of their equivalent of God, mind you. Creator, or some nonsense… Anyway, just change into one of the dresses in the closet immediately. Create guns, of course they would, but denim? Not a thing. Creative little buggers those Sims are…" I smile. Dr. Gwenn is definitely my favorite of Dad's colleagues. She refrained from using those big science-y words in conversation with me out of courtesy. The others just made me feel stupid.

"But I'm sure they'll love you," she finishes, "Stand up straight dear, and I suggest you close your eyes."

I did as she said, every inch of my skin tingling in anticipation. Or electricity. Probably the latter.

"Have a good time in Humus, Bella. Look for my Easter eggs."

Even through my eyelids the light that flashes next is bright. I'm suddenly aware of an intense spinning sensation and wonder if this would be what it feels like to launch into space. Of course, I suppose that is what I'm doing in a way. Just not our space…but our space all the same. Damn rabbit holes. There are a lot of things about this I try really hard not to think about too often.

Violent vibrations.

Can I vomit now?

Can't breathe.

Then I collapse to the floor, and heave in a desperate gasp of air. The first thing I'm aware of is the overall bizarre feel the air has. Clear, clean, thin. Then I feel the soft, white carpet in my fingers and stare down at it as I adjust to the new atmosphere. Then I look up at my new environment in eager curiosity.

The apartment I will call my home for the summer would be considered very small by today's standards, but it is a technological marvel most of my world could only dream of. My equivalent of a living room is a petite white couch on the white carpet. An enormous screen curves around the arching wall opposite me, meant to create an Imax effect in my own home. The kitchen is minuscule at best, separated from the living room only by a change of flooring. White carpet transitions to white linoleum. An item very similar to a refrigerator waits in the corner, though no stove is in sight. I know from studying that the upper section of the refrigerator (the freezer in another world) was the stove, oven, and microwave combined. How that worked, I didn't even care to investigate. And I had a feeling that's how I'd feel about most of my father's creation's creations.

I stumble to my feet and take a chance at one of the two doors, hoping for my bedroom. Sure enough, the one of my choosing leads to a room with an ovular shaped bed up crammed inside along with what seems to be a closet closed off by an equally white curtain. I shake my head, tired of all of the white; we gave them enough colors that their options aren't this limited.

I push the curtain aside and sigh in relief to see colors; I was worried for a moment that they'd made my avatar colorblind or something. I pull out a sleek lavender dress and examine it. Even a quick glance would reveal that it is one of the more casual pieces. No tees and sweats for me, much to my displeasure. The skirt was flowy and rested just above the knees, the color transitioning from dark to light upward. The bodice was a cool, simple shade of lavender, separated from the skirt with a simple, sleek black belt. The sleeves were off the shoulder and more like a semblance of straps than actual sleeves. I pull it on quickly, noticing the updo my hair was preset in. All of my hair was pulled to the left side in a tight bun, all except a few shorter hairs falling artfully out from the other side. I stroked it gently, reveling in how real and soft it felt.

I find my awe of my father's work growing warmly within my chest more and more each passing moment. This is truly an amazing world, and I can only imagine the sharp perfection of everything to come.

**Note: Thanks for reading. This was really kind of an intro chapter. The others should be longer and have more stuff happen. Please review! It makes me feel nice.**


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